Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Sony Set The Stage For a Strong Year for the PS4

At its annual E3 press conference, Sony unveiled a line-up of content for the PlayStation 4, including Destiny, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Far Cry 4, Batman: Arkham Knight, The Order: 1886, the highly anticipated No Man’s Sky, and many more.

SCEA also unveiled an exclusive PS4 Destiny bundle that includes a custom glacier white PS4, provided an update on its original content series "Powers," introduced PlayStation TV (PS TV) for the North American and European markets, and discussed the rollout of "PlayStation Now" (PS Now) in the United States and Canada.

"With the success of PS4 - the number one next generation platform globally - and the announcements we made tonight around exciting new content, platforms and services, PlayStation is delivering unique and powerful entertainment experiences that speak to the hearts and minds of gamers," said Shawn Layden, president and CEO of SCEA. "PlayStation offers something for everyone, whether you want to lose yourself in a massive virtual world with tons of social interaction like Destiny or you’re looking for a more intimate, unique experience offering plenty of challenge like Entwined. Our unwavering commitment to gamers will ensure that PlayStation will always be where the greatest play happens."

PlayStation 4

Sony sais that since the launch of PS4 in in November, it has sold more than 7 million units sold worldwide. New game titles include "The Order:1886;" "Bloodbourne," a new IP from game director, Hidetaka Miyazaki; "Little Big Planet 3;""inFAMOUS First Light;" and "Entwined," a new IP from Pixelopus. "Entwined" was immediately made available for PS4 via PlayStation Store for $9.99. "Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End" and "The Last of Us Remastered," by Naughty Dog, rounded out the press conference demonstrations from SCE Worldwide Studios.

SCEA also debuted "Far Cry 4," which was demonstrated live for the first time in co-op mode. PlayStation gamers who buy Far Cry 4 at launch this November on either PlayStation 3 (PS3) or PS4 can invite some of their PSN friends to play with them even if they don’t own the game. In addition, SCEA announced that starting this Thursday and lasting through the weekend, PS4 owners around the world will get a chance to play the "Destiny First Look Alpha" by visiting www.greatnessawaits.com/Destiny. PlayStation gamers will also get their hands on the Destiny Beta first, starting July 17. The Destiny experience on PlayStation features exclusive in-game content for PS4 and PS3, including weapons, armor sets, ships, an entire strike and multiplayer map.

At the press conference, first gameplay of key franchises "Dead Island 2" and "Mortal Kombat X" were unveiled, along with a new partnership with Disney Infinity that includes an exclusive "Disney Infinity 2" collector’s edition for PS3 and PS4 where the "Incredible Hulk" will only be available at launch on PlayStation. Other partnerships announced include "Grim Fandango" remastered exclusively for both PS4 and PlayStation Vita (PS Vita), "Let it Die" exclusively for PS4 by creator Suda 51, the console debut of Giant Squid Studios’ "Abzu" on PS4, and a demo of "No Man’s Sky" by Hello Games that will launch first on consoles on PS4. A new trailer from "Battlefield: Hardline" showcased the console exclusive Beta that’s now live on PS4. Partnerships with both Devolver Digital and Paradox Interactive revealed the exclusive console debuts of franchises like "Broforce," "Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number," "Not a Hero," "Titan Souls, The Talos Principle," and the sequel to the "Magicka 2." Another key announcement featured "Grand Theft Auto V" coming to PS4 with the ability to transfer progress from Xbox 360 and PS3 directly to PS4.

Grand Theft Auto V will take full advantage of the power of PS4 with across-the-board graphical and technical improvements, such as increased draw distances, finer texture details, denser traffic, and enhanced resolutions.

Game world enhancements include new wildlife, upgraded weather and damage effects, and an array of new details to discover.

The new generation upgrades also extend to Grand Theft Auto Online, as gamers will compete with each other in terms of "criminal" ranks, cash, properties, vehicles, compete in traditional competitive modes, or create their own content to play and share with the Grand Theft Auto community.

In addition, the current community of PS3 players, and Xbox 360 players will have the ability to transfer their Grand Theft Auto Online characters and progression to the PS4 game.

"Batman: Arkham Knight" from Rocksteady helped close the press conference with a breathtaking gameplay demo and an introduction to the "Scarecrow Nightmare Missions" that will only be available on PlayStation.

In addition to a portfolio of games, SCEA provided an update on Project Morpheus, the virtual reality system introduced last March. The company showcased how it is fully leveraging the power of PlayStation Camera to deliver a new medium to gaming, with two new playable game demos to be introduced at E3.

Brian Michael Bendis, executive producer of "Powers" unveiled on stage the first details of the PlayStation original content series, which will be available in the United States this December with every PSN user in the United States receiving the first episode for free. The entire series will be available for free to all U.S. PlayStation Plus members.

PlayStation TV

SCEA also announced PS TV for the North American market, an entertainment system that will enable users to enjoy a variety of PlayStation game content on their TV at home. At a suggested retail value of $99 for the standalone system, players will be able to download select PS Vita games PSP games and PlayStation games from PS One classic through PlayStation Store, stream select PS3 games to the device via PS Now, and play PS4 games from a PS4 system in their home over local Wi-Fi through Remote Play. Select PS Vita games will also be playable on PS TV via PS Vita cards. PS TV also offers entertainment content, with movies, TV shows, and music available to buy, rent, or stream from PlayStation Store. This small device, with dimensions of approximately 2.5 in. x 4.1 in., fits next to living room TVs, while also being portable enough to let gamers move it easily to other TVs in their home.

SCEA also announced new details about PS Now, SCE’s streaming game service that leverages cloud-based technology, which will become available in the continental United States and parts of Canada this summer. Starting July 31, SCEA will introduce an open beta where gamers located in supported areas will be able to rent over a hundred PS3 titles. During the open beta SCEA will test multiple pricing tiers and rental durations, from short periods to a month or longer, allowing users to play a game at their own individual pace.

Sony laucnhed a new slimmer model of PS Vita in May. More than 1,000 games are currently available from PS Vita native games to classic titles from other PlayStation platforms. This year, more than 100 games are anticipated to be released, including "Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number," "Tales of Hearts R," "Minecraft," "Helldivers," "Hohokum," and "Guns Up!," a free to play side-scroller action strategy title. Gamers who own both PS Vita and PS4 also benefit from a library of PS4 titles, nearly all of which can be streamed to their portable system via Remote Play. Later this year PS Vita will receive PS Now compatibility, bringing full-streamed PS3 titles to the portable platform.

Holiday bundles were also announced including:

"Destiny Limited Edition Glacier" White PS4 Bundle, available on September 9 for $449.99 MSRP, includes a 500GB white PS4 chassis, Activision and Bungie’s "Destiny " and a 30-day memberships to PlayStationPlus.